Tag: Business

Riversimple Rasa at LCV16. A serious surprise for the automotive professionals.

“Business with impact, business that earns trust, sustainable business that will stand the test of time – that is what this is about” Estelle Clark, Riversimple

The Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle (LCV) Event has been running for 9 years. It’s the premier UK event for the advanced propulsion sector, attracting representatives from right across the automotive industry and the engineering world.

Last year, at LCV15, Hugo Spowers, Richard Coltart and team Riversimple arrived with a chassis and a business plan. It was no ordinary plan. It’s not everyday that a start-up sets out to become a contender in the hugely competitive automotive industry. And it was no ordinary chassis. It was the basis of a ground breaking car, designed around a hydrogen fuel cell coupled with a bank of supercapacitors.

The car in the process of being built by Riversimple was little more than a framework. There is no doubt there were those who suspected it would never be driven on the roads. At that time, the hydrogen fuel cell at the heart of Riversimple’s groundbreaking network electric system had not yet been connected. The Riversimple engineers literally had to push the chassis onto the stand.

As an LCV delegate said to Richard Coltart, program manager responsible for taking the Rasa from concept to prototype, “Last year Riversimple looked like another academic project. Now you’re driving the prototype around the UK. I’ve come across to shake your hand.”

Together we have achieved something truly remarkable. To those who thought it could not be done..Well, it can.

The next step is to build 20 cars and test them. This summer, we agreed the first trial of Rasa in the UK. We will be partnering with Monmouthshire County Council, to run a 12-month trial of 20 hand-built hydrogen cell cars for short term contracts. Which invites exciting new questions. What will we bring to LCV17 – LCV18 – LCV2020?